To output information (image data or the like) input in an information input apparatus (digital camera or the like) from an information output apparatus (printer or the like), it has conventionally been necessary to temporarily store the image data in a personal computer (PC).
In recent years, digital camera users who do not possess PCs have been increasing. Also users who want to print images stored in a digital camera more easily have been increasing. Under the circumstances, to meet the needs of such users, a “direct print” method has been proposed, i.e., a method of directly connecting a digital camera and a printer by a cable to perform printing (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-239312).
If a wireless network replaces a connection cable in a direct print method described above, users will feel more convenient.
However, wireless communication may be disconnected due to the surrounding environment or the like, unlike wire communication. A higher level information transfer protocol for implementing wireless direct printing does not define a solution for a wireless-specific error such as disconnection of a wireless channel. More specifically, in such a higher level information transfer protocol, “disconnection of a wireless channel” is treated as a “data delay”.
However, a timer for monitoring detection of a “data delay” is set to time out after a relatively long time (e.g., 2 minutes). For this reason, other image input apparatuses need to wait until the timer times out.